


chocolate bars and dumb boys

by rmaowl



Series: niagara falls [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Awesome Pepper Potts, Bedrooms, Beds, Blankets, Blood, Chocolate, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Tony, Lazy Mornings, Light Angst, Menstruation, Mild Blood, Mood Swings, Morning Cuddles, Mornings, Nicknames, Pain, Pepper Potts Feels, Pet Names, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark, Romantic Fluff, Sharing a Bed, Stomach Ache, Texting, Tony Feels, Tony Has Issues, Tony Stark Cuddles, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark’s Media Smile, i love yous are... hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-18
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-12 02:37:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17459018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rmaowl/pseuds/rmaowl
Summary: Tony approaches Pepper’s bedside and piles the chocolates in her lap. "Your choice, honeybunch." He grins. "Go to town.""I'd die for you," she says, entirely serious."Don't... do that. Please," he implores, eyebrows pinched together. He laughs briefly. "Your mood swings are insane."





	chocolate bars and dumb boys

**p.potts**  
what kind of fucking name is virginia anyway !!  
it's so goddamn stiff  
there aren't any nicknames for it  
who names their kid virginia in this day and age ???

 **t.stark**  
are u... ok

 **p.potts**  
no

 **t.stark**  
do u need anything  
is it That Time

 **p.potts**  
ur gross !! i hate u !!! i hate dumb boys that jump to conclusions when girls get emotional !!!!  
but  
yeah

 **t.stark**  
yes cool  
i will reiterate  
do u need anything

 **p.potts**  
sickeningly expensive chocolate  
and also u i guess ://  
cuddle w me u bitch!!

 **t.stark**  
on it  
<3

 **p.potts**  
again. gross  
<3

* * *

Pepper's head is tipped back as she gazes at the ceiling, her body flattened by various thick blankets, her abdomen aching. Her phone lies somewhere on her side table. Her clothes are fresh and new, because she'd showered after waking up to find blood soaking through her soft pajama pants. The sheets were only mildly affected: she'd spent half an hour arguing with herself, questioning whether or not they required changing. She'd changed them, in the end, to put a stop to her own nonsense.

The bloodied sheets remain crumpled in a wayward laundry basket, because she simply can't be bothered.

The doorbell rings downstairs, a piercing noise that offends her ears. Her temple throbs; she presses a warm hand to it in a weak attempt to alleviate some of the pain. She hears her mom hurrying to the door, a brief exchange between two familiar voices, and then noisy footsteps making their way up the stairs.

Tony appears in her doorway, several different kinds of chocolate bars stacked in his arms.

"I love you," she blurts out in a moment of weakness. The redness that blooms across Tony's cheeks is quick and unexpected, his mouth left agape.

He allows himself to be startled for a split second before his walls get shoved back up.

"Right back at ya, sweet pea," he drawls flirtatiously, too exaggerated to be anything but fake. The media doesn't know that, though, not as intimately as Pepper does. They never will.

Tony's cheeks are still flushed, reduced to a subtler pink.

"Get over here," she grouses, a switch flipped within her. She's bitter at Tony's walls and the reasons that he thinks he needs them. "I've changed my mind. I hate you."

"You do hate dumb boys," Tony agrees, recalling her earlier words. His smile turns a tinge more real. "Can I be your dumb boy?"

"No," she says shortly, "you're your own person, and you’re not... _that_ dumb." She's surprised by her sudden seriousness. Her eyebrows furrow before she meets Tony's gaze. He's pouting. He's either genuinely disappointed at the waste of a pick-up line or he's using it as a front for deeper emotions, ones that make his chest ache and his fingers twitch. "Anyways," she says, effectively ridding the room of its momentary hush, "chocolate bars, please?"

Tony obliges gratefully, appreciative of the concrete job, the specific instructions he's been given. He approaches her bedside and piles the chocolates in her lap. "Your choice, honeybunch." He grins. "Go to town."

"I'd die for you," she says, entirely serious.

"Don't... do that. Please," he implores, eyebrows pinched together. He laughs briefly. "Your mood swings are insane."

"Shut up," she mumbles, shoving his shoulder. She begins unwrapping one of the chocolate bars, biting into it resignedly. "This sucks."

Tony nods. "Yeah." He stands there awkwardly, shifting on his feet.

"Come here," she says after a long moment, exasperated. By now, she's nearly finished her third chocolate bar. "Do you really need an invitation to cuddle with your suffering girlfriend?"

"No," he mutters, cheeks flushed, sulking. He clambers into bed alongside her. She hums softly and presses a kiss to one burning cheek.

She considers saying that she loves him, but she doesn't want him to abruptly clam up and claim that some urgent situation requires his attention elsewhere. It nearly happened when he first entered her room, she could tell, but he managed to regain his footing by utilizing a media persona of his. She's sure it wouldn’t go the same way, should she repeat the phrase firmly and purposefully.

"Thanks for caring," she says instead, and it's not quite the three words resting on the tip of her tongue, but it's enough. Tony smiles.

"Spoiling others is my specialty," he jokes, gazing at her fondly. "Especially those that I..."

He trails off, looking faintly frustrated with himself.

"Like?" Pepper steps in, a hint of teasing in her tone.

Tony snorts self-deprecatingly. "Let's go with that."

"It's okay that you can't say it, y'know?" Pepper assures, frowning. She places her hand over his. He deflates with a heavy sigh.

"Sure, angel. Whatever you say."

"I mean it," she snaps. "You've said it before to people who've only hurt you in return. That particular four letter word hasn't been kind to you. That's okay. You show me that you like me in other ways. You got here in record time when I said that I needed you."

"And the chocolate," he adds, eyes glittering as he looks over at her. "I bought you tons of expensive chocolate."

"That you did." She giggles, brightening. Tony's demeanor has shifted as well, cheerier due to her comforting words. She presses a chocolaty kiss to his lips.

They spend the rest of their lazy morning cuddling.


End file.
